I know a lot of you guys are pretty good with computers whereas I am not so much, so i would like some input on this subject.

My present computer has decided to shit the bed, locking up and going to a black moniter screen while i surf the web, oddly it never really happens while playing World of Warcraft- so I want to pick up a new computer- probably from best buy because i have an amount of gift credit from them and its easy.



I am deciding between this-
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9174564&type=product&id=1218044490119

and this
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9174289&type=product&id=1218044029789

Really it is only to be used for WOW, watching porn and surfing the net.

Any input would be of use to me. I realize the power supply and graphics cards may need future updates. But because Nvidia changed their naming of the cards i cant even tell which one has the better Graphics card- although i suspect the HP does for the onboard graphics memory.

If those are the 2 to choose from go with the hp. It has Intel quad process vs the other that has AMD. I used to be a big AMD Fanboy but they have missed the boat when it comes to Quad core. I just picked up a quad core Intel processor and it smokes!!! The problem you will have is that it is 64 bit vista. That means that some web pages may not load properly since not all add on installers will work with any 64 bit operating system. And NO OLD programs will install properly under 64 bit systems. By old I mean 1995 era. All those used 16 bit installers and will not load. I found out the hard way.

Oh yeah....8 gigs of ram is way too much. Unless you are using an auto-cad program or some other massive video intensive program it just won't utilize all the ram. Kinda like having 15 inches of pensis....you can't get it all in.

You can make those old programs run at the lower bit-rate. There is a setting somewhere that windows gives you to run individual apps at the lower rate. Compatibility Mode.

All you computer nerds get off my lawn!

If you right click on the icon of the program you want to run there is a setting that allows you to run it in several different modes. The problem I was referring to is that really old games for instance won't even install so you can't get to the point of running them to begin with.

Well actually the way microshit handles ram memory that is not exactly true. It would utilize a large part of it but vista only use about 1 gig when it is running and the most someone would need is about 3-4. I have 4 and it NEVER uses it all. And I do heavy video editing and stuff. You could turn off the swap file but some programs the way that they are written, won't operate like that. They will crash even though there is enough memory. We are dealing with microsoft here.

Do they still make 128mb of RAM?

That's taking me back a few years. Maybe SDRAM is still sold in 128 megs

From those 2 choices, the HP. It has more video RAM. You don't really need the tuner on the gateway, so why pay for it? Just remember to uninstall all the bloat-wear first.

I recently bought a Gateway LX6200-1 and a 19x17 monitor for almost exactly $1000. 64 bit, 8 gig ram. 720 GB disk. AMD something or other. But someone told me that Gateway computers were not that good. But i loving it so far.

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From those 2 choices, the HP.

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I concur with H2C.

They gotta start selling computers that have like half of the hard drives loaded with porn. Get a computer and get porn for FREE!!! And they should have options like ANAL, BIG TITS, TEENS, SHAVED CUNT, MILFs and ASIAN CHICKS.

MegaRotic used to sell 300Gb external hard drives loaded with porn in a very similar manner to that which you propose.

They gotta start killing babies when they come out stupid.

I can't imagine you need a quad core CPU for WoW. Go with a Dual Core. 4gb RAM is ample. I'm told WoW doesn't need a killer video card so no need for one of the space heaters.

Gateway's engineering hasn't always been the best in the past.

I think the second one would be good.

Note that some PC games are getting to be much more demanding as far as CPUs go. EX. GTA4 recommends a quad core.

If you are getting a computer for gaming I would definetly get vista 32 vs 64..just to be safe. As I said earlier, some stuff just doesn't play well with vista 64 bit. Maybe it will in the new operating system MS is putting out later this year called Windows 7. But you never know.

I disagree. Vista sucks ass as pretty much all gaming reviews will attest to. Stick to XP if you actually want to be able to run all your games.

true....but all new computers come with vista...it is hard to find one that has Xp

I bought a computer several months ago and in my desk drawer is a disc containing XP. They will give it to you if you ask them for it.

Why would you suggest Vista after starting a topic here about how much it sucks?

And it does suck, no legacy support for 16 bit software?

It does suck...but a lot of people like it Also both computers he was looking at had Vista. And I was married for 7 years so I guess I have picked up some of my ex's traits of taking both sides of an issue...

Best Buy doesn't carry it but here is XP home edition for 116 Canadian dollars..

Vista and gaming should only be mentioned in the same sentence as a bucket full of tears.

Kinda like marriage and sex

I've heard some people can tell the difference between DirectX10 and DirectX9c. If you are one of those people then Vista might be for you. For the rest of us XP works just fine.

Yeah...but those are usually the same turds that jump up and down after spending 500.00 for SLI or Crossfire and then get a 3 or 4 Frame Per Second increase and think they are somehow smarter than everyone else.

My last computer had SLI. Till one of my video cards caught on fire.

Fuckin too funny.

It sucked. Though it was the only time I was ever thankful for buying a case that had a window in the side.

All of my computing needs were met by Korean internet cafes for about a month, it was bad.

The only time I had a computer catch fire I was working for the college I was attending at the time as a tech guy and they were hell bent on using old shit equipment and I was in the library working on one of the machines and the damn thing literally light up. All the kids about shit themselves.

Luckily there really isn't much inside the average PC that is able to burn.

I seen two computers on fire.

1st, when I was the AG's office a computer tech accidentally plugged the power supply from a Racal Vadic modem into the AT keyboard port of an AST 286 PC. The male plugs were EXACTLY the same. It made a small explosion when it blew out the motherboard. I felt bad for the guy.

The other, I did myself a couple of years ago. I replaced the power supply in my HP Media Center with a generic and the power pins were kind of shoddy. The little protectors on the pins wouldn't stay in place to well and I got careless and two of the raw wires touched and my motherboard burned and took out one of the hard drives when it died.

Hasn't Panzer set four computers on fire this year?

It seems like the consensus is that the HP would be the better choice. I was leaning that way as well, the only problem being they don't have them in stock yet, nut i have waited this log with this piece of junk so a little longer shouldn't be a problem.


As far as Vista goes I have made some topics on gamefaqs and the wow boards asking about it and it seems it shouldnt present any big problems with wow at all. Like i said the 2 systems seem real nice for my needs excepting the power supplies and possibly the video cards. But then again my current card is a nvdia 7300 gs so either of these should be an upgrade. Thanks again for the input and if anyone can think of anything else i should know please post it.

The only thing I would add is that if you do upgrade your video card and then need to restore the computer...be sure to remove any add on parts so that the computer will restore correctly...sometimes they are programmed not to restore if modifications have been made.

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind if i do upgrade but if it is just WOW i am playing then i bet i won't have to, or at least i hope i won't. I just see those cards being a weak point on those 2 systems along with the power supply. If i get tired of WOW and decide to go with the new games out there i will be upgrading. Then again for most games i'd probably just go console then, what with the prices approaching my level every month.

That's what I did. I got tired my upgrading my video card every 12 to 18 months. Xbox 360 and PS3.

It all depends on the game.

WoW is highly dependent on your GPU while GTA4 is CPU heavy, for instance.

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Modems work at much higher voltages that motherboards, even the old 286 motherboards. That pop was a cap & probably spilled nasty goo.

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Honestly I know NOTHING about the mechanics of what the DC converted power intended for the 2400 baud modem does when plugged into a keyboard port where nothing with it's own power was suppose to be plugged. But, it can't be too good.

It was a bit of comedy.

Someone going, "I think something is burning. "Yeah, I smell it, too." People looking around trying to figure out where it was coming from. Then smoke coming from the back of the PC. Then POP!

True. And When it comes to Dual core vs Quad core some games only use 2 cores while things like video editing use all 4.